The Simple Things in Life

The last couple of days have not been as productive as I would have liked. It seems that all I get done is mundane household chores. Not too exciting to write about on a daily basis, but very authentic for today and the 19th century. It is what moms do, even when we don't really want to!

While I was doing all of that necessary "work," I did happen to make an Apple Crisp with the help of my lovely daughter.
She does love her apples!

Apple Crisp is such an easy thing to make, and it tastes sooooo good, especially during beautiful, fall weather! Take any type of apple (I used Galas and Granny Smith to have some sweet and a little sour) and add Cinnamon and a little flour (so there will not be just juice from the apples but rather a thicker sauce). Mix up some oats, brown sugar, and a little more Cinnamon. Cut in Smart Balance Light (or butter if you can eat it) to make a nice topping for the apples. To make it really good, put some small bits of butter on top of the apples before putting on the topping. Top the apples with the oat mix and bake. So simple and soooooo good!!!!

Women today, just like in the pioneer days, loved having some things be simple and easy. There never is quite enough of the "easy stuff" when it comes to running a household. Little special treats like Apple Crisp every now and then spice up life and hopefully bring family closer together.

Remember, not everything has to be hard!

Full Day

Today was a full day. We got our new couch this weekend, which inspired us to finish cleaning and going through the living room. We even had our carpets cleaned! Well, we did not intend to do that, but it turned out that the company I called was owned by a man whose daughter goes to the school my mom works at. My mom knew his wife and daughter! So, we ended up getting the living room and hallway done for a great price! If you ever need your carpet or upholstery cleaned, contact Eco Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning.

ecocarpetandupholstery.com

Anyway, after all of that excitement, it was time to think about dinner. It was suggested that we have Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, but no one wanted it if it was made with jar Alfredo sauce. So I made it all from scratch. My family said it turned out great! You can't go wrong with cream, butter, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. My soon to be brother-in-law said it was as good as Olive Garden!

My mother made two pumpkin pies today, too, which means we have to have homemade whipped cream to go with them! So I made a big bowl of whipped cream for the warm pumpkin pie that the family had after dinner. It was a wonderful dinner!!

Homemade dinners are fun to make, especially when they are appreciated. It is a rare thing that families sit down together and eat a homemade meal anymore. Most of the time, members of families grab something processed to eat as they are rushing out the door (or they skip meals altogether). Families in the 19th century ate almost all of their meals together as a family, and they were definitely homemade! They didn't have all of the "convenience" in meal prep that we have available today. They made everything from scratch, and I am sure it was soooooo good!!

If you haven't made something from scratch in awhile or at all, then give it a try! You will remember or learn how wonderful homemade food really is!

Purging, Re-arranging, and Variety!

The past couple of days have been purging days, at least for me. I have been trying to go through things here that have not been used in ages or that we don't need anymore. Believe me, it's easier said than done! Since I have been away for quite awhile, I do not have the attachments to things around here anymore like my sisters do. It is easy for me to say, "Oh, you don't need that anymore." They do not find that amusing after they hear me say that to more than half of their stuff.

Actually, they have been pretty good about getting rid of things. In fact, each of them had more bags to give to Goodwill than I thought I could get out of them. So, today we loaded all of the stuff for Goodwill into my van (which was packed to the max!), and my sister dropped it off on her way to the school. It was a beautiful, sunny day today for us to be outside accomplishing a good thing. There is now a small corner of the garage that we can move around in as we go through the rest of the garage and purge some more!

When I get on a purging kick, I sometimes carry that over into rearranging. My excuse is that I need to move furniture around to be sure that I am not missing something that could be thrown away or given away. In all honesty, I just like moving furniture. So that is what I did, as well. The new layout has proven to be a success. My family has commented on how much they like it. We are hopefully soon going to get a new couch since ours is very old and falling apart. Then I get to rearrange again! Yay!!

Now how does all of my ramblings about purging and rearranging furniture relate to the 19th century? Well, given that houses were a lot smaller than most of ours today, families during that time did not have much space to just store things they did not use regularly. As children outgrew things, they were either passed down to the next child or remade into something that could be used. If that wasn't the case, then once something couldn't be used anymore, it was gotten rid of. Another good point to make here is that children did not have all of the toys and things that children of today have. They had much fewer belongings. Again, the space issue and not a lot of money for "extra" things.

The mentality was also different during that era. Material things were not as important. The family had what it needed and maybe a little extra, but it was not consumed with stuff. As the mother of the house, she was constantly trying to keep things in their place or get rid of them so they had room to eat, sleep, learn, and spend time together. There probably wasn't much rearranging of furniture, given that they didn't have a lot of pieces nor a lot of space in their small houses. However, I bet women sometimes got an urge to just change things up a bit for variety's sake like I do. It might be in our nature. Well... at least I think so!

You know what they say - "variety is the spice of life!"

The Infamous Wash Day

The dreaded wash day is upon us. After that wonderful, relaxing Sunday day of rest, it is now time to get back to the daily grind. Many people don't mind doing laundry, but to some of us it is a chore that seems to be unending. I can't even fathom how women of the 19th century dealt with all of the laundry, washing it the old fashioned way. I think it takes long enough sorting the different colors, putting one load in the washer at a time, waiting to switch it over to the dryer, all the while starting the next load. Then folding everything and putting it all away.

Now I have no reason to complain since I don't have to boil water and scrub my clothes by hand or with tough soap such as lye. Nor do I have to wait for the outside air to dry all of my clothes. Don't get me wrong, I love the smell of clothes freshly dried in the sun, but choosing to do that and having that as the only option are two different things!

Here is the before and after of my day's laundry.

- The dirty clothes pile

The clean clothes pile -

I am still folding and putting away the clean laundry. No nice, neat folded stacks of clean clothes for me. Not when I have the loving help of my 10 month old. No excuse compared to 19th cenury women. They definitely had it harder - the process, the space, the help, and so on. Since we don't have it as hard as those women did (and we don't have a specific day to do laundry on), I think it is safe to say that at least the laundry is clean and my baby is happy!

Cleaning Day the Old Fashioned Way

Today, being Friday, was cleaning day. I got lots done (including the bathroom, living room, bedroom, and some of the dining room), but while I was working I was thinking of the ways 19th century women cleaned their houses. This turned my attention to the simplicity of which cleaning products should be. We don't need chemicals to thoroughly clean and sterilize our belongings. Because I have a little baby around putting everything in her mouth, I am constantly aware of the fact that what I clean with will probably end up in her mouth at some point. So, combining the concern for my baby's health and safety and the knowledge that I have of old fashioned cleaning supplies, we will look at a few basic items that will also help you be more "green."

Every household almost always has baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice. These are the basics. So simple! You can always make something a little more elaborate or that has a fragrance, and I will share with you a couple easy recipes for everyday cleaning supplies that can be added to.

1. All purpose cleaner - for two cups of water add a few drops of natural soap (liquid castile soap is a good, safe one). If you want to add a fragrance, add 15-30 drops of your favorite essential oil, such as lavender or tea tree. Put mixture in a spray bottle, and you can clean just about anything.

2. Clogged sink or drain - pour one cup white vinegar and one cup baking soda into the drain/sink, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then pour a tea kettle full of boiling water down to flush it through.

3. Window and glass cleaner - mix half a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water.

4. Toilet bowl cleaner - sprinkle baking soda and lemon juice in the bowl and let it sit. Then use your scrub brush on it.

5. Dusting spray (or furniture polish) - mix a half cup of lemon juice with one cup of olive oil. Wipe down furniture using a soft rag and mixture. Smells better than the store bought!

Hope these are helpful to you! I am keeping an eye out for more interesting and easy ways to clean and disinfect our homes without using chemicals.

Friends in the Fall

And so it continues. The crisp fall weather along with the rain made for a long day indoors. However, the view from my back door near sunset was pretty. Some of the trees still have plenty of leaves while others look very bare. It is sad yet invigorating! We are moving on to the next phase of the year.

But with this next phase comes the winter cold. I mentioned in a previous post how four of seven in my family have been ill with the flu. Now they are all dealing with cold-like symptoms, and I unfortunately, have not been able to keep myself from getting it. I had been pumping myself with Vitamin C and and my daughter's Viral Immune Boosting drops. So far, she has not gotten it, but I am in the beginning stages. Hopefully, this will be my one cold of the season!

Since I am all about natural things, and I love Vitamin C, I couldn't imagine how pioneers did without it. Going to a CVS or Walgreens on a street corner was not an option in those days. However, they were not without Vitamin C at all. What they did have was lots of foods from their garden that were rich in Vitamin C. Foods like cabbage, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, and red peppers are full of this immune boosting vitamin. Pioneers ate these kinds of food to help their bodies try to fight the cold. Obviously, there were other things pioneers did, but eating Vitamin C rich foods when they were sick helped them gain strength (from eating) and fight the virus (with natural remedies). Perhaps because they ate these types of food all the time, their immune systems were stronger against the common cold. Who knows?!

Here is a recipe I found in Yoga Journal that is supposed to help boost the immune system if you are starting to feel under the weather.

Immune System Booster Soup

4 cups mushroom or chicken broth

1 small onion, chopped

4-10 garlic cloves, to taste, crushed and chopped

1 carrot, grated

4-8 fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced

1-3 tablespoons grated ginger, to taste

1 lemon, juiced

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1. Bring the broth, onion, garlic, carrot, mushrooms and ginger to a slow boil.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer on low, covered, for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
3. Remove from heat; add the lemon juice and parsley. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

If you want something more tradional that perhaps would have been made in the 19th century, try this recipe.

Rustic Cabbage Soup

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

a big pinch of salt

1/2 pound potatoes, skin on, cut 1/4-inch pieces

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

5 cups stock, vegetable or chicken

1 1/2 cups white beans, precooked or canned (drained & rinsed well)

1/2 medium cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch ribbons

more good-quality extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Warm the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the salt and potatoes. Cover and cook until they are a bit tender and starting to brown a bit, about 5 minutes - it's o.k. to uncover to stir a couple times. Stir in the garlic and onion and cook for another minute or two. Add the stock and the beans and bring the pot to a simmer. Stir in the cabbage and cook for a couple more minutes, until the cabbage softens up a bit. Now adjust the seasoning - getting the seasoning right is important or your soup will taste flat and uninteresting. Taste and add more salt if needed, the amount of salt you will need to add will depend on how salty your stock is (varying widely between brands, homemade, etc)...
Serve drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a generous dusting of cheese.

Either one of these delicious soups would help boost one's immune system and fend off the terrible cold (as well as taste good), and they are so much better than medication and pills!

After researching all of this, I now want to go try these soups. But first, the grocery store, since it is past garden season, and I haven't properly prepared for winter like the pioneers did. Oops!

Enjoy!!

The Beautiful Start of Fall!

As I thought about what should be the first entry, I decided to look at the time of year. Fall is so beautiful with the changing colors, the crisp air, and yes, even the rain. I have often wondered what people of the 19th century thought when these seasonal changes began taking place each year. Perhaps it was basking in the beauty around them, or panicking that there was still much to get done before winter set in - canning, drying, hunting, sewing/mending warm garments. So much of that is still the same, only we have access to faster methods like shopping for our clothes rather than making them and buying our food at a grocery store. However, I have seen more and more people returning to the roots of the older times. Friends are gathering large amounts of fruits and vegetables and spending a day canning pints and quarts for their families to enjoy during the winter.

Some of my favorite things to can are green beans from my grandmother's garden, applesauce, tomatoes, preserves, spaghetti sauce, and peaches. My family also enjoys drying fruits, such as apples and peaches. I love the fact that everything I can/dry is organic and healthier than if I bought a processed version from the store. I know exactly what is in it!

These simple ways of life allow us to enjoy the yummy goodness of the summer gardens and orchards throughout the cold winter months.


Here is a link for Canning Basics for Preserving Food:
http://www.canning-food-recipes.com/canning.htm

Time is of the essence!! It's almost winter!